Risking everything
by Comet Cat
Summary: Star Wars Rebels: ISB-Agent Kallus wants to join the rebellion, but unintentionally lures the rebels into a trap. Will he be able to warn the rebels in time and convince them of his support? (Here's the missing episode how Kallus finally joined the rebellion.)
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

Star Wars Rebels: ISB-Agent Kallus wants to join the rebellion, but unintentionally lures the rebels into a trap. Will he be able to warn the rebels in time and convince them of his support? (Here's the missing episode how Kallus finally joined the rebellion.)

**Foreword:****  
**This story, which goes online here, was already written in German language before the Rebels finale. My goal was to write a story that would work as a Rebels episode and would not break the existing canon. I was always missing an episode of how Agent Kallus came to the rebels. He was just there at some point. But you never see him being recruited or, for example, getting the access data to contact the rebels. So I wrote the missing episode myself.

Just want to point out one thing: Kallus and Zeb are in this story buddies, and nothing more. And Kallus is straight.

The story is more of an adventure-plot to fit into rebels. Only the last chapter is a bit of a romance.

**Time**: Rebels Season 2, after "The honorable ones" and before Malachor.

**Central Characters**: Alexsandr Kallus - Ahsoka Tano - Garazeb Orrelios

**Also performing**: Grand Moff Tarkin, the two Inquisitors (Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother), Bail Organa, Rex and Sabine Wren.

**Length**: 5 chapters

Update: once a week, usually on Fridays

BIG THANK YOU to Douglas who helped me with the translation! You can see the stories of Douglas right here: ~sensey

Thank you also to Fernanda, who was giving me the idea to translate this. And a big hello to my German fanfiction-friend Sudooku, who is also posting her stories here.

**Risking everything**

**1\. The heart of a rebel**

ISB agent 021 Alexsandr Kallus has never felt so much a loser as he did that day. Not that this feeling was something new to him. With bitterness, he thought his stakes on Lothal were mostly defeated. So he already had some practice of enduring personal failure. In fact, it was a miracle that he had not been demoted after all the recent failures. However, this day still crowned the accumulated defeats of recent months. The fateful day had started normally. Kallus was in his barren quarters, where cleanliness and the Imperial order of things prevailed. His J-19 Bo rifle, which he had won in the fight against a Lasat honor guard, was leaning against a wall. Unfortunately, the weapon did not fit in the prescribed and standardized weapon rack in his office.

The ISB agent had added some personal adjustments and modifications to the weapon to better suit his fighting style. His initial exhilaration at having captured this rare weapon had been replaced by a mixture of regret and shame. Shame on having nearly wiped out the Lasat race. In the meantime he even wondered if his greatest military triumph had not actually been his greatest human defeat. On a narrow shelf above his bed, a meteorite was still glowing with faint light. It was the meteorite he and Zeb Orrelios had found on the Geonosis Moon Bahryn, and who had probably saved his life in the cold. The stone still produced a low heat.

After doing his personal training and some administrative work, Kallus checked the main computer more out of routine. The ISB agent did not expect any important news, but felt that it would be useful to keep up to date.

As he flew over the current orders and instructions, he could barely catch his breath. It had to be a major security breach in the Imperial system. Fragments of secret data were suddenly visible. It was the TIE Fighter project that Grand Admiral Thrawn was working on. For Kallus, the site of the project and details were unknown. He only knew that this project existed, just as Grand Moff Tarkin had launched a secret project called "Stardust" with the Emperor. That some of the data and the location of Thrawn's secret project were freely available, was a security leak of enormous proportions. And a tremendous chance for the rebellion ...

Kallus was aware that he risked his entire life, and his entire career. But for some reason, that did not matter so much anymore. Ever since Zeb's encounter with Bahryn, he had become increasingly doubtful. More and more inconsistencies had struck him, like the disappearance of the entire population on Geonosis. Kallus had realized that he had looked away too often, where he should have looked at closer. That he would have to investigate where he had just followed orders. Now he had the opportunity to make up for what had happened.

Whatever Thrawn intended with his project, it would do harm to the rebels and possibly other species in the galaxy. Innocent people would be hurt or even killed. And it was in the power of the ISB agent to do something about it. At least he could do that for the rebels - he could warn them. With trembling fingers, Alexsandr Kallus moved the data from the main computer to a datapad. He did not even have to enter an identifier for it. Then he let ten minutes pass before he reported the data leak to technical safety in accordance with regulations. There, they only told the agent that they had already been informed and were working on the problem.

Under pretext, Kallus stole away during his lunch break and flew his speederbike to a remote tower, where he had established an emergency shelter with some technical equipment – it had been there for some time. The downed tower with the platform, the railing, and the transmitter antenna had been left when he found it. The ISB agent had installed a new lock that sometimes jammed or opened out of line due to the heat. He'd installed some technical equipment on tables and shelves for transmissions that did not concern the Empire.

In contrast to the order of its Imperial premises, this room was almost chaotic. Helmets of stormtroopers were lying around with empty cups of liquid among them. It was all rounded off by a jumble of cables and negligently attached posters on the walls. Scuffed upholstery on a bedstead on one side of the wall offered a bit of comfort.

Only a few skilled attitudes were needed, then the ISB agent recorded an encrypted message to the rebels. The rebellion was accessible via official Holonet channels, but had to constantly change its ID and platform due to imperial restrictions. Kallus used the newest code that the database provided: "This is an important message for the rebel cell known as the Phoenix unit," he began, his voice distorted by a decoder. After that he sent without comment the fragmentary plans of Thrawn's project together with the coordinates of the site.

Kallus took a deep breath as the message was transmitted. For the first time in a long while, he felt he had finally done the right thing. He still floated on a wave of exhilaration as he made his way back to the command center on the Speederbike. At the head office, no one seemed to have missed him during his lunch break.

However, his elation collapsed abruptly half an hour after the break when Grand Moff Tarkin quoted the Imperial agent via Holonet. And that was when the worst day of his life started.


	2. A rare find

2\. A rare find

**2\. A rare find**

From the first minute of the conversation, Alexsandr Kallus had the oppressive feeling that something was wrong. He looked at the haggard, emaciated Grand Moff Tarkin on the holonet screen, outwardly calm and collected, but had a dull sensation in the pit of his stomach. Tarkin's gray hair wreathed more and more to the back of his head, giving him an increasingly skull-like appearance.

"How may I serve you, Grand Moff?" ISB agent Kallus asked politely.

All at once the face of his counterpart became hard and cold.

"What I have to tell you is subject to the highest imperial security level. It is of utmost importance that this information not leak out. Not even Grand Admiral Thrawn is aware of it. Do I make myself clear?"

Agent Kallus suspected from this point that Tarkin alluded to the data leak around Thrawn's T-Fighter project and was starting to sweat slightly. He had been dragged into things that were clearly too big for him, if not even Thrawn knew about it. And which could easily cost him his head.

"Of course, Sir. You can totally rely on me. "

"We have provoked a data leak to trap the rebels and give them a big punch," Tarkin continued unflinchingly. 

Kallus felt a chill running down his spine. That could not be true! The data leak was a deliberate trap for the rebellion! And he had alerted the rebels to it ...

"Sir, that's ... an extremely daring move," he protested. Actually, the word "high treason" had been on his tongue, but he had been holding back just in time.

Tarkin smiled a cold and cynical smile. "We have revealed to the rebels only insignificant fragments of this top-secret military project. Only enough information to make them curious and investigate. And I can assure you that this time, they will not escape the trap. "

So that was the plan. To make the rebels curious, to finally extinguish them. And he himself, Kallus, had made things worse and led the rebels straight into the arms of the Empire. If anyone got hurt now, it was all his fault. And the consciousness about it felt heavy like a lead vest. The ISB agent also wondered if Tarkin would have been so open-minded about the data if it had been his own Stardust project. Apparently, Tarkin had used Thrawn's project without his knowledge to strike a blow to his opponent.

After a short break, Tarkin added. „You will lead the mission. Immediately go to the place of work whose coordinates are being transmitted to you. Incidentally, this is not the correct location of the project, but a factory that we have shut down for a long time.

"To what circumstance do I owe the honor of being in charge of this business, Sir?" Kallus allowed a touch of protest. When Tarkin glared at him as if he wanted to shoot him into space, the agent added, "Unfortunately lately, I have not been particularly successful in destroying the Phoenix unit ..."

"That's why we're giving you Inquisitors aside, along with another special unit waiting in containers for the arrival of the rebels," Tarkin said coldly. "I rely on you, Agent Kallus. Do not dare to disappoint me again. "

Kallus had no choice but to salute. Inwardly, he felt like he was about to vomit.

"And remember, this operation is top secret. Nobody is allowed to know about it. There are rebel spies everywhere", Tarkin added.

Along with Senator Bail Organa, rebel leader Ahsoka Tano was bent over a screen in the command center on Yavin-4. Bail exchanged a questioning look with his agent while some data was being played on the flickering screen. The patterns were reflected on Ahsoka's face, attentively studying the details.

"This imperial information was freely accessible for about ten minutes. They are teaching us in part about a secret military project that may well involve research on an improved TIE-fighter on Lothal," Bail said, cautiously formulating each word.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, rocking her head. Something about it felt weird. These transmissions could be a tremendous opportunity for the rebellion to come before the Empire in the creation of a new, dangerous weapon. However, they also contained a certain risk.

"That's not all", the senator continued. "A short time later, a hitherto unknown person also sent us the same data, along with a message for the Phoenix unit. We could not fully track the signal because it was encrypted. In addition, the person used a voice decoder for distortion. Our technicians were able to confirm that the signal came from Lothal. Do you have any idea who this mysterious supporter is?"

Now Ahsoka seemed to emerge from her thoughts and shook her head in confusion. No new entries were known to her, and Lothal fell into her sector. She would have been the first to be informed when a new supporter was on their site.

"Certainly, none of our people. Maybe it's an engineer who got a bad conscience?"

Bail nodded slowly, leaning heavily on his hands. "I want you to figure out if we can trust this new informant. And about this secret military project ... "

"It could also be a trap." The Togruta woman expressed what Bail had indirectly hinted. "Anyway, such a data leak is pretty suspicious." Then a new thought came to her. "Wait, Senator ... you said the second message was addressed to the Phoenix unit ... Maybe the Phoenix unit rebels know more about it?"

Bail then shook his head. "Negative. I have already clarified that."

The rebel agent crossed her arms over her chest, seeming to think again. "Whoever he is, he seems to know the people of the Phoenix unit anyway. I'll take care of it and take some people from the Ghost. Maybe our informant will eventually try to get in touch with them."


	3. A matter of honor

Sorry for the delay. I had to wait for my beta-translator, who was busy. But now the story is fully translated and will continue weekly.

**3\. A matter of honor**

Restless, Agent Kallus paced up and down the alleged test site. Dawn was already breaking when he started his post. By this time, night had fallen on Lothal. The Empire had revived a decommissioned shipyard east of Lothal. Some TIE models had been dropped off to give the rebels the appearance of research. Several large containers stood around, which normally would contain material and components. Hidden in them were forty men from the Imperial Assault Command, a specially trained special unit of the most experienced elite soldiers. In another container, the two Inquisitors lurked in order to switch off any present Jedi can. The terrain was illuminated by floodlights. Some stormtroopers had been set up around the compound and were shunting.

Already, on his arrival, Kallus had briefly agreed with the team leaders of the special unit and the Inquisitors about the further procedure. These should only come into action after a special alarm signal was given by the Seventh Sister.

"Your job is to carry out a sporadic watch that allows the rebels to come to us," said the Inquisitor. With a malicious look in her yellow eyes, she mockingly added, "But, regarding patchy security, you know quite well already."

Kallus glared at her in dumb rage and dreamed of pulling his J-19 Bo rifle across her face.

"How long will the mission take?" asked Lieutenant Lyste, who was patrolling the compound with Agent Kallus. He obviously felt insecure because he hardly gave his superior a minute of peace. With every little noise he whirled around and drew his blaster, and was gradually getting on Kallus's nerves.

"Until something happens," the older agent replied.

Lyste groaned in agony. "But that could take days."

"I want to check the technical equipment again," said Kallus, who suddenly had an idea. "You take the nozzles, parked next to the containers. I'll check our stock of blaster carabiners, blaster pistols, and shells. "

He had to somehow get rid of Lyste, who stayed at his side like a devoted dog - and he had to warn the rebels. Kallus had already lost several comrades during his military career. However, if the rebels were to be destroyed today, after he had led them straight into the arms of the Empire, he would not be forgiven. Kallus also thought of Zeb. On the Geonosis moon Bahryn they had fought together as comrades against all adversities and supported each other. And a comrade was not to be delivered to the knife. It was a matter of honor.

Lyste seemed less than enthusiastic about the new task, but had to follow orders. He whirled around again as if he had heard a noise and pulled the blaster as a white Loth cat scurried past them.

"Relax," Kallus said sternly. "Around the compound are the Inquisitor's ID9 search droids. They'll let us know first if anything suspicious happens." Lyste let out a deep breath, then finally trotted toward the jet sleds. Kallus disappeared quietly between two containers. He had just discovered an LE series repair droid that could prove useful for his purposes ...

Ahsoka lay on a hill not far from the TIE Fighter test site with her stomach in the sand and macro binoculars in front of her eyes. To her left, in stolen Imperial armor, were Rex and Sabine, who ducked into the compound just in time. To her right, rolling in the sand, was Zeb, who also had macro binoculars.

Ahsoka had actually wanted to take Kanan and Ezra, but they were elsewhere, procuring fuel in a nearby system. And the matter was too important to wait for her return to Atollon. So, she decided that Rex and Sabine, as human members, should play the Imperial soldiers this time. Aliens could not credibly infiltrate the Empire. She had taken Zeb, on the other hand, out of instinct. She somehow felt that he could be useful on this mission.

"Well, everything stays as discussed. Rex and Sabine, you try to get as close as possible and steal a flight data recorder from these TIE fighters. Wait for the mission until I give you the signal. If you run into trouble, Zeb and I will distract them and try to get their attention. Chopper secures our retreat."

The droid had stayed with her ship, which was parked nearby. "Sounds like a good plan," Rex said.

Zeb suddenly stopped to look into his binoculars. "Kallus has the lead down there."

Ahsoka and Sabine exchanged a brief, amused glance as Rex shrugged. "Do you want to say hello to your new buddy?" Sabine teased, referring to the events on Bahryn.

"Nonsense!" Zeb snapped. A little embarrassed, he added. "I just don't want to break his skull. That would feel weird after we ... well, somehow worked together. "

"Then we hope he sees it the same way with you," Ahsoka said, matter-of-factly.


	4. Under Imperial control

Hello everyone and thank you for the nice review from the last chapter! I'm glad if you like the story.  
I can only think of Kallus and Zeb as friends. But a pairing does not feel right for me, as if Han had a relationship with his wookie ... As for pairings, something will come up in the fifth and last chapter.

**4\. Under Imperial control**

ISB Agent Kallus's nerves were pushed to the breaking point as the adrenaline surged through his body. Involuntarily, he'd raised his head in the direction of the LE repair droid that was hidden between two containers. It was good to have taken control and not continue to be just the mindless commander. For the first time, he had actively intervened in something. For the first time, he had changed something. He had reprogrammed the repair droid so that its two circuits worked against each other. As soon as Kallus activated the droid, it would overheat and give a loud alarm before switching off. That's how the rebels would be warned.

The agent looked into the distance. Behind the beam of floodlights, the surrounding hills were at best recognizable as shadows. Somewhere in the distance, Loth wolves howled. Kallus could almost detect that someone was out there. Something could happen at any moment. Each moment, the storm could break over them. Beside him, Lyste had meanwhile lost his paranoia or had simply become too tired in the advancing night. His eyes were half-open. Kallus decided to send him back to the command center a half hour after the shift ended. The ISB agent himself would persevere until he could be sure that the rebels were warned and safe. Having led them straight into the trap, that was the least he could do for them.

A soft hum on his wrist interrupted the nocturnal silence. Kallus activated his com-link and heard the voice of the Seventh Sister. "The Lasat miscarriage was reported by my droids in sector twelve."

Automatically, the Imperial agent raised his gaze in the designated direction. Sector twelve was pretty much on the edge of the area. If Kallus signalled now, Zeb would probably be able to escape in time ...

"Should we strike?" he asked.

"Not yet ... we'll let them get closer until they're finally trapped. Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition at this time," the Sister replied.

Kallus felt his stomach was turning. Ironically, Zeb had to run into the trap. The very one whom he saw as a kind of comrade. The agent pretended to cross his arms, but in fact feverishly fumbled his fingers for the droid's remote control.  
"Soon you will be able to boast of wiping out all the Lasat. That's a good feeling," Lyste remarked cheerfully, while standing beside him.

For Kallus, the thought felt more like someone was jabbing a sharp knife into his stomach. Then the droid howled loudly, while at the same time, he staggered out of his hiding place. Small current discharges twitched around him. Kallus collapsed on his own because he had not expected the tone to be so penetrating and loud. He stared in the same direction as everyone else. Almost at the same time, the container doors burst open, as the Inquisitors and Special Forces men stormed out.

"Why did you give the signal?" the Inquisitor shouted at Kallus, and the Fifth Brother glared at him angrily.  
"I didn't! You overreacted! It's only a droid malfunction," Kallus roared back, pointing in the appropriate direction.

The Inquisitor whirled around, staring a little stupidly at the swaying droid as Kallus told her, "Get to sector twelve before the rebels escape again!"

"Go to Sector Twelve," the Inquisitor shrieked at the Special Forces men as she steadied herself.

"To the speeder," Kallus instructed Lyste, who had also awakened from his trance and pulled his blaster. From a distance, the ISB agent heard a noise as he hurried to the speeders. Had someone knocked over something there? At the same time, red flashes of light filled the air as the special unit fired blasters. Kallus also saw two white lights running around like hissing tongues of fire, as he looked toward the hills.

"Retreat! Immediately!" Ahsoka ordered angrily over her com-link as the alarm sounded. White light flickered as she sliced two Inquisitor's ID9 search droids in half with a hissing sound. It reminded the former Jedi of something she remembered from the Clone Wars: split B1 rattles.

Sabine cursed loudly, and scolded her com because she and Rex had not been able to capture the flight data recorder, and had not found any data writers on the TIE hunters they had secretly entered. Ahsoka and Zeb moved forward as well, when the shrill sound of the alarm suddenly went off. The onetime Jedi was surprised by the loud alarm signal.

Normally, the Imperials would have given only an indirect alarm from their com-links, which would not have warned the rebels. After all, Ahsoka could order Rex and Sabine back from the danger zone in time. Just a few moments later, the place seemed to explode with activity. All the troops that had jumped out of the containers, as well as some Air-specs, shot straight at Ahsoka and Zeb. Obviously, the search droids had sent pictures of the invaders to the Imperials before they were cut. In the midst of the troopers, the lights of two red lightsabres also blazed. Ahsoka was annoyed, thinking for a moment, that she and her people had fallen into a trap with at least two Inquisitors. But it was no use staying annoyed. Now it was time to get themselves and their team to safety as quickly as possible.

Briefly, the former Jedi concentrated and sent some nearby barrels toward the advancing soldiers with a powerful surge of the Force. Some of the troopers were knocked over by the barrels, and when they dropped, more soldiers fell with them. Two people were lifted from their speeders by a flying barrel. The soldiers hit the ground hard and stayed with their heads back for a moment.

"A little support would be nice!" Zeb yelled into his com.

Half-hidden behind a container, he fired wildly into the second row of Imperials, but most of the shots ricocheted off the Reflec armor of the storm squads. Ahsoka jumped in front of Zeb and threw back the blaster shots of the advancing soldiers with her lightsabres. For a moment, she thought wistfully of the days when she had fought with Anakin against the separatists and made bets on who would do more ricochets. Then she quickly brushed the memory aside and dropped another blaster shot at a soldier. The man cried out in pain and stumbled to one side. A quick glance over the attackers' heads showed Ahsoka that things were calm around Rex and Sabine. At least the two had not been discovered yet.

"Support is on the way!" Rex shouted via com-link.

Almost at the same time, shots started coming from a nearby three-legged repeater blaster, which Rex and Sabine had obviously taken. Its salvos decimated the ranks of the advancing troops. And Ahsoka thought she heard the Inquisitor shriek over the battle noise: "Can't any of you idiots take care of the rebel scum in sector six?"

And then the troops parted. The air around the repeater blaster was suddenly shrouded in clouds of smoke as explosions erupted between the hammering of the shots. Obviously, it was Rex who held the firing position while Sabine lit a few explosives. Suddenly the system seemed to explode with a loud crash. The detonation was still audible in the valley, causing the ground to vibrate. Obviously, Sabine had managed to blow up the fuel storage for the TIE fighters standing near the repeater blaster. A flash of flame immediately shot into the sky and plunged the place into a cloud of fire. Dust was whirled up and fragments of debris flew away as the blast hit them. Automatically, the soldiers threw themselves to take cover, who had stood near the explosion.

"Let's get out of here!" Ahsoka shouted to Zeb, sending yet another burst of power to the troops, who were just distracted by the blast.

The Togruta sprinted in front of the lumbering Lasat and tried to cover him at the same time to catch more blaster shots that hissed through the night. In the distance near the hill, Ahsoka spotted her remaining friends. Sabine also had to take advantage of the explosion distraction to escape with Rex.

The Mandalorian ran as a small, dark dot in her pilot's armor in front of Rex, who was panting after her in the white armor of a Stormtrooper. Ahsoka and Zeb hunted up the sandy hill, where their boots found a hard grip and kept slipping. The former Jedi continued throwing salvoes back at her opponents with the lightsabres. The occasional painful yell behind her showed when she had hit the target.

When Ahsoka heard the usual gripe of Chopper on the com-link announcing his approaching arrival, she yelled at her friends, "Go on to the ship! Do not wait for me! "

"Ahsoka, what are you doing? That's too many, even for you! "Rex, who had last fought his way up the hill, stared at

her in shock.

"Get to safety. That's an order! I still have something to do here ", she cried.


	5. Defying gravity

Hey, thank you again for the nice review from the last chapter! You are my hero! As for pairings, in this chapter you will see what I mean. I hope you like this last chapter as well. It's my favorite chapter of the story.

Thanks to all who read my story! Have fun with it! And thanks again to Douglas for correcting my translation.

**5\. Defying gravity**

****It was over. The Imperials had lost again. The rebels had all escaped them. For one thing, the insurgents already had a good lead over the Imperial troops. For another, one of the Jedi had intervened and thoroughly messed up the ranks of the Imperials. The detonation of the fuel tank was what finally enabled the rebels to escape. However, for ISB Agent Kallus, it was the first time that a defeat felt so good.

He had already sent a brief report to Tarkin, blaming the Inquisitor's "overbearing intervention" for the rebels' escape. If they had only intervened a few minutes later, the rebels would have been trapped.

"In escaping rebels, you also have some experience," Kallus could not resist a snappy afterthought to the Seventh sister. She then sparkled him like a nexu, who would tear his throat at the next opportunity. By now his adrenaline had subsided and Kallus felt tired. His body longed for sleep. But there was still something for him to do. He wanted to apologize to the rebels for having led them straight into a trap. After that he would finally be able to lie down and sleep in his tower for a few hours.

Kallus had relayed his message to the rebels, when suddenly, behind him, the door with the unreliable lock opened. A sharp, hissing sound filled the room, which was suddenly submerged in the soft glow of white light.

The ISB agent felt his heart was frozen. He knew the sound. This was clearly a lightsabre that had just been activated. He was surely going to face death now. Maybe it was a Jedi who felt betrayed. Or one of the Inquisitors had come to grips with it.

"Hands up and turn slowly!" A woman's voice he did not know echoed across the room. With the expression of a delinquent following an executioner's instructions, Alexsandr Kallus turned around. He stared in amazement at the face of an adult Togruta female he knew only from records. It was the rebel agent Fulcrum, who had fought two Inquisitors at the same time in a dispute on Takobo. The battle that had been recorded by the Seventh Sister's ID9 Search Droid had been a popular topic of conversation among senior officers for several days.

Fulcrum seemed at least as surprised to see him as he was to see her. For a moment neither of them said anything. Fulcrum, bathed in the white light of her lightsabres, seemed to appraise him. She exuded an immense presence of power and energy. And Kallus understood why the Empire was after this rebel agent. Why Lord Vader personally ordered her persecution.

"You are behind this message?" the Togruta asked with a certain suspicion in her voice. She slightly lowered the previously raised lightsabres. The light now flowing around her face made her look softer and warmer than before.

She's beautiful, Kallus thought, before regretting it in his next breath. He knew that this woman could kill him slightly in passing. Finding her nice did not make things easier.

Fulcrum looked at him attentively, waiting for an answer. And Kallus felt more and more like an idiot while he answered with his hands raised, "You probably will not believe me, but I did not mean to hurt you. I really thought that I would do the rebellion a useful service through this information. The TIE-Fighter project really exists, but not at the location you were told. Unfortunately, the Empire had plans I did not know about. That's why I tried to warn you with a repair droid alarm." Fulcrum took a step toward him, still holding the lightsabres. She seemed to analyze him with her eyes. Was that a kind of Jedi mind-trick she was performing? Kallus swelled slightly.

"Why should I believe a man who ordered the genocide on Lasan?"

"Listen," he said, still sweating, "I was a different person then. Young, stupid and exceedingly ambitious."

Her eyes narrowed, showing an angry expression. Kallus panicked. Had she come to avenge the destruction of the Lasat and make him pay for it?

"At that time, I still believed in the Empire," he continued hastily. "I really thought, in my delusion, that I was serving the galaxy. And I do not want to lie, the whole thing has certainly given my career a boost."

She took another step toward him and Kallus closed his eyes in the face of near destruction. The next instant he heard that the sabres had been switched off. When he opened his eyes in astonishment, he saw the woman fastening both swords back to her girdle. And in a slightly friendlier voice, she said, "When we talk, we should at least be honest with each other. You may put your hands down. "

Kallus lifted his gaze from her hips to her face as he lowered his hands. She drew a white line above her eyes as she noticed his gaze. The ISB agent was slightly sweating again, albeit for a different reason than before.

"So you are Fulcrum," he tried to steer the conversation back to less dangerous paths. He supposed, however, that Fulcrum was a kind of alias and wondered what her real name was. "Why did you persecute me?"

Fulcrum shrugged. "I waited for someone to move away from the group. Finally, I wanted to find out who was behind this message. You really want to join the rebellion? For what reason?"

She was walking around inside the tower now, looking at some equipment and the empty cups. Kallus lowered his head. How could he explain it all so that she believed him?

"There were incidents", he began. "Events that I did not pay attention to earlier. The extinction of the population of Geonosis, for example." He cleared his throat. "I was so convinced that I was doing the right thing and being on the right side, that I had become blind to the things that were going on around me."

To his surprise, Fulcrum agreed. "The Jedi probably did that in a similar way to Chancellor Palpatine. When I was in the service of the Republic, I was also convinced to fight for the just cause. The Emperor always knew how to fool those around him."

She exuded a wave of compassion, which surprised Kallus. Compassion did not exist in the Empire and was seen as a sign of weakness. There was only win or failure. And he had failed too often lately. In fact, his service on Lothal had been a single chain of failures.

"Anyway, I realized that I had done wrong. Not all Lasat are bloodthirsty beasts, because one on Onderon slaughtered my comrades. I used to look away too often when I should have looked closer. I had been tough, where instead my help was needed. I always wanted to provide security, not terror." He coughed briefly.

"And I wanted to warn you about this project, so I gave you the plans. But I failed again." He sounded contrite, and a wry smile slid across the woman's lips. She had circled the table where he'd set up his equipment to send the encrypted messages.

"I don't think so."

"But I put Zeb in danger," Kallus protested. "And you were out there, too."

Now Fulcrum stopped in front of him, looking directly into his eyes. Kallus was once again enthralled by her charisma. It was a unique blend of strength and compassion that he had never experienced in this form before. If it was in his power, he would do anything to protect her from Vader.

"You have warned us that the Empire is launching some secret project that can do much harm to the rebellion. It's not this location to which the information has led us. But there is something we need to learn more about. Then you warned our people by the signal before the deadly trap snapped. And you've done another useful service to us ..."

She paused. "You've brought us into contact with someone who can provide the rebellion with internal information from the Empire."

Her blue eyes locked on him until he understood that she had spoken of him. "That means you would trust me?" Alexsandr Kallus asked in surprise. He had not expected to be so quickly accepted by her. Fulcrum was perhaps a hand's breadth away from him, close enough to hear the sound of her breath. She stood on her toes, moving even closer to his face. Kallus was irritated. Did she want to kiss him?

"That means if you betray us or double cross us, I'll kill you by my own hands!"

Abruptly, the rebel agent turned away from him and turned her back on him for a brief moment as a deadly shudder came over him. "I understand that," he replied with a dry mouth.

"You'll need an identity," she continued in a business-like tone. "I am providing you with one of our Fulcrum ID's that you may use to contact the Rebellion. You also need a symbol so the rebels will recognize you ..."

"How about the patterns of your face?"

When Fulcrum turned around in surprise and stared at him, Kallus hastily added, "Then the rebels will know that you've talked to me and that it's all right."

To his surprise, she shrugged and nodded. Fulcrum now held out her hand, holding a memory chip. When she handed it to him, her hands touched briefly. Kallus understood that there were the identifiers Fulcrum had spoken of earlier on the chip.

"Thank you", the ISB agent said with relief.

In the end, the day had not been as bad as he first thought. Kallus was still alive and not degraded. He even had a new job. And besides, he had met a pretty woman he would work with in the future. A little impulsively he added: "Will I see you again - Fulcrum?"

The Togruta smirked slightly. Then she answered, "That would be possible. And ... my name is Ahsoka **–** to my friends."

END


End file.
